I'm just writing this to let you know what was deducted from the security deposit. The score would probably be a 3 otherwise. It's a decent place for a decent price.
Our deposit was $1,025 and when it was returned after we moved out, they deducted $210.
$110 was for professional cleaning, which we were informed would be deducted at the time we gave notice. I thought it might be an automatic deduction (not allowed), but then later we were given the option of cleaning the apartment ourselves. The paper listing the cleaning requirements was absolutely ridiculous. I've never been required to do anything that extensive, or even heard of it. Nevertheless, we did a decent job cleaning out of pride (we did not complete their cleaning requirements), and in the hope that they might not deduct the full $110. No such luck.
We were also informed that $50 would be deducted for carpet cleaning. I'm not sure why it was necessary, since we pretty much never ate in there and the carpet was in the same condition as when we moved in. Anyway, they only deducted $40. Lucky day.
Finally, $60 was deducted for painting, part of which I understand.
By the way, we received all the required paperwork, including copies of the invoices from the companies that did the work.
Anyway, so that's it. Not the end of the world. I have no idea if that is normal for San Diego or not. Just something to be aware of. read more